Ascension Series (Book 13): Ascension and Romantic Relationships [Paperback]

Confusion and misinformation abound regarding the compatibility of one's spiritual pursuits with one's romantic and sexual pursuits. Classical religious teachings, early books on psychic and metaphysical phenomena, and culture all contribute to the proliferation of misunderstandings.

The book Ascension and Romantic Relationships clarifies this subject, and brings forth a great deal of new and refreshing information on this topic. The book is filled with surprises. Whatever your current understanding, this book will take it to a higher, more integrated and more comprehensive level.

The books explains that romantic love is not only compatible with spiritual development and the path of ascension; it is a very important part of it. A good relationship between compatible individuals creates a collective consciousness of those two people. Sexual union, on the physical and astral planes, creates the bonding and connections that enable that merging of beings to take place. The merged consciousness of the romantic couple is a deep experience through which we can approach the lessons of incarnate life, and increase our Light and Love Quotients.

The book discusses, from the perspective of ascended masters, all matters pertaining to couples, including sex, love, consummation, bonding, married life, child rearing, soul mates, twin flames, pre-nuptials, abortion, extra relationships, collectives (group entities), sex after death and types of sex or union on various inner planes (astral all the way through logoic), gay marriages, types of relationships, and the relationship of all of this to ascension.

The final chapter is an appendix of 166 short, practical guidelines for having an effective romantic relationship, covering ways to enhance relationships, relationship problems, and tips on romance and love-making.

The six-page table of contents lists all of the subjects within each chapter. I started reading specific sections that caught my interest, and now I am going back and reading full chapters to more fully understand the context of these sections.

The chapter heading are:
1. Finding Your Mate
2. Bonding Patterns
3. Unconditional Love and Commitment
4. Competition and the Path of Ascension
5. Our Sexual Selves
6. The Differing Elevator Syndrome
7. In Search of Your Soulmate: The Deeper Meaning
8. Spiritual Parenting
9. The True Meaning of Marriage
10. God, the Consummate Union
11. Living the Spiritual Life Together
12. The Golden Keys to Effective Romantic Relationships

I have been revising this review as I read more of the book, and I may continue to do so.

[update added Nov. 4, 2009]:

As I read through the last chapter "Golden Keys to Effective Romantic Relationships", I realized that this is one of the most important chapters in the book. In fact, it could stand alone as a separate book on marital relationships. In addition to the author's being an ascended master, he is also a psychiatrist and professional marriage, family and child counselor. The combination allows him to address real world issues and solutions that are in harmony with spirituality and soul evolvement.

I do not know which of the 166 sections ("golden keys") in this chapter I would like to quote from, to share as an example. They are all so useful that my excerpt choice is almost a random one. Below, are excepts from Section 19, "Invulnerability":

"This is one of the most important qualities to develop to make your relationship work. It is the understanding that you create your own reality and your own emotions. Neither your partner nor anyone else causes these. Just because you are married or in a committed relationship doesn't mean that the relationship of marriage causes your emotions. The development of invulnerability means that no outside person or situation can take away your inner peace or joy unless you choose to allow this to happen.

[...]

"...Your job is to stay centered and help bring your partner up, rather than to allow him to bring you down.

"The same applies to feelings of sadness, depression and grief. You can try to help where this is appropriate. But these are your partner's emotions, not yours. When it is aimed at you, you can choose to practice humility and turn the other cheek. Or you can communicate your spiritual observations to your partner in a loving way and your preference that they do not do this. As `A Course in Miracles' says, `An attack is a call for love.' Defensiveness and retaliation are not appropriate responses. The ideal romantic relationship deals with the transcendence of negative ego."

I did not like the counseling tone the co-author used. I was surprised that Dr Stone would co-write with someone obviously from a very different background. Not his best work. I do not recommend it

Good information about love, it is an interesting read and looks at the spiritual side of love which I liked a lot x